a-n is pleased to announce that it will distribute over £27k from the Art Technician Emergency Fund, which was set up to support UK art technicians who have lost their livelihoods due to Covid-19.
Fundraising was conducted via a silent auction of artworks, which were donated by artists in support of the fund. Art technicians who signed up for the fund are now being asked to confirm they still require financial aid, with the total money raised distributed equally between all qualifying individuals.
The Art Technician Emergency Fund was set up by: Sarah Titheridge, art technician and facilitator of the art technical advocacy organisation ArtTechSpace.com; Martina Schmuecker, freelance art technician, artist and teacher; and Taz Lovejoy, freelance art technician and fabricator, and facilitator of Out of the Blue Fabrications, a company focused on the creation of high quality fabrication solutions for artists, galleries, museums and private collectors.
In a statement the trio said: “Art technicians are the back-bone of the art and museum world. Right now, they need assistance to alleviate some of the financial struggle they are and will face in the coming months. The working reality for many art technician is one of multiple precarious job arrangements, so support schemes set up by the government such as the SEISS grant will only help a small percentage of art technicians.
“Many of us will qualify for very little, or not qualify at all. Additionally, art technicians tend to have additional running costs to be able to do their jobs such as studios, workshops, and storage units for tools and equipment. Right now, a lot of art technicians are in severe financial difficulty and run a very real risk of losing their jobs for good. We want to help by giving art technicians affected now a chance to readjust, and to be in a position to work again in the future.”
Explaining a-n’s role in distributing the funds, Julie Lomax, CEO of a-n, said: “We are very happy to partner with the Art Technician Emergency Fund to distribute funds that support art technicians at this critical time.”
“a-n has the processes in place to quickly get money where it’s needed. Since the start of the pandemic we have delivered bursaries to artists through Time Space Money, working with Arts Council England to distribute £300,000 of additional support as part of this programme, and supported artists and freelance creative practitioners through the £1.5m Freelands Foundation Emergency Fund.”
For more information on the Art Technician Emergency Fund visit www.jumblebee.co.uk/arttechniciansemergencyfund
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1. Art Technician Emergency Fund
